Joined: Jun. 2021
Posts: 902
Likes: 383
Marner/Guentzel trade doesn't seem that beneficial to me for either team.
That entire top line is one season away from UFA status. That's either another insumountable cap problem to work around, or a mass exodus of talent away from Toronto. Jake and Nylander will both be getting a couple million in raises, and then Ehlers, Knies, Liljegren, and Samsonov will likely all need the same the year after. Toronto's cap troubles are enough as it is. This looks like it'll be worse in the very near future.
As for the Pens, losing Jake's sniper prowess and taking on nearly $5M more in cap both hinder the Pens' goal scoring and their ability to address their depth - the two issues I'd argue they need to fix the most. Marner is a fantastic player that improves the Pens' top 6, but that's not where PIT needs to improve. Add in Joseph and that 1st, and that's youth that the Pens' won't have, another thing they could use more of, not less.